Sushi is a Japanese dish of specially prepared vinegared rice, usually with some sugar and salt, combined with a variety of ingredients, such as seafood, vegetables, and occasionally tropical fruits.
Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the key ingredient is “sushi rice”, also referred to as shari , or sumeshi . The term sushi is no longer used in its original context and literally means “sour-tasting.”
Sushi is traditionally made with medium-grain white rice, though it can be prepared with brown rice. It is often prepared with seafood, such as calamari, eel, or imitation crab meat. Many others are vegetarian. Sushi is often served with pickled ginger (gari), wasabi, and soy sauce. Daikon radish is popular as a garnish.
History of sushi
The history of sushi began around the 8th century in Japan. The original type of sushi was first developed in Southeast Asia as a means of preserving fish in fermented rice. In the Muromachi period, people began to eat the rice as well as the fish. During the Edo period, vinegar rather than lacto-fermentation was used to sour the rice. In modern times, it is an early form of fast food strongly associated with Japanese culture.
Instructions:
Step 1: Preparing the small cucumberCut off both ends of a small cucumber, then cut it lengthwise in half. Cut both of these halves lengthwise in half again. This will be used to make the crab claws. Put the knife against one of the sides with the skin and cut in until halfway through. Flip it around and cut through the side without the skin at a 45 degrees angle, until you meet the other cut you just made. Put aside for later.
Step 2: Preparing the carrotCut off both ends of a carrot. The cut the carrot into the size of half the width of a sheet of nori. Cut off a slice lengthwise, to get one side flat. Put the flat side down and cut another slice off, lengthwise. This leaves you with two flat sides touching each other. Cut off a slice of 0.5 cm thick. From this piece, cut off 2 sticks of 0.5 cm thick. Cut of all 4 corners of the stick. It’s best to do this while holding the knife at a 45 degrees angle. This leaves you with a roundish carrot stick. Make two of these and put aside for later.
Step 3: Preparing the big cucumberCut off both ends of the cucumber. Then cut off a piece with the same size as the carrot (the size of half the width of a sheet of nori). Cut it lengthwise in half. Using a mandoline slicer, make cucumber slices of 3 mm thick.
Cut a few of the slices into strips of 1.5 cm wide. The cut of a strip of nori and use it wrap a strip of cucumber inside it. This is because rice doesn’t stick to cucumber.
Step 4: Stacking the cucumber strips
Spread a very thin layer of cooked and seasoned sushi rice on the wrapped cucumber. Place another nori wrapped cucumber strip on top. Again, spread a very thin layer of rice on top. Repeat the process: place another nori wrapped cucumber strip on top and cover it with a very thin layer of sushi rice. So that’s 3 nori wrapped cucumber strips on top of each other, each covered with a very thin layer of sushi rice. Make 2 of these packages and put aside for later.
Step 5: Preparing the nori sheetPut half a sheet or nori and a quarter sheet of nori on a rolling mat. Glue the two pieces together by spreading a little bit of sushi rice on one side of the half sheet. Overlap the two sheets and press them together. This results in a very long sheet of nori.
Step 6: Preparing the tunaCut off a rectangular piece of sashimi grade tuna, with a size of 2 x 1.5 cm and a length of half a sheet of nori. Put aside for later.
Step 7: Assembling the roll
Spread 100 grams of cooked and seasoned sushi rice on the nori sheet. Leave an area of 2.5 cm uncovered on both short sides of the sheet.
Take 20 grams of sushi rice and use it to create a wall in the middle of the sheet. Then take 15 grams of sushi rice and create another wall, next to the first one, with a space in between of approximately 2 cm. Do the same on the other side of the wall.
Take a piece of nori of 3 to 4 cm wide and the same length as one of the rice walls. Put one of the circular carrot sticks on the piece of nori and use this to cover the gap between 2 walls by pressing the nori with the carrot down. Do the same with the other gap. Then tuck in the nori with the carrot by gently pressing the walls against each other.
Place a cucumber piece from step 1 with the skin side down, on the outside of the rice wall. Do the same on the other side.
Place the piece of tuna in the middle. Place the cucumber packages from step 4 on either side of the tuna.
Step 8: Closing the rollLift up both sides of the rolling mat, creating half a circle. Don’t close the roll. Use towels or something similar to support the sides, keeping them up. Cover the tuna and any exposed nori with a thin layer of su
shi rice. Make sure it’s a really thin layer, otherwise it’ll be really hard to close the roll. Now you’re ready to close the roll.
Take one side of the mat, curl it over and press down. Then curl over the other side with a little bit of overlap and close it. Now roll the roll using the mat and compress it, to make sure the filling is tightly in place.
Gently press with your hands against both ends, to tuck in any ingredients that stick out. Again, use the rolling mat to compress the roll.
Step 9: Cutting the rollWet a sharp knife, to prevent ingredients sticking to the knife. Slice of pieces of 2 cm. Take a look at what you’ve just created: a piece of sushi with the image of a small crab inside. Looks impressive, tastes delicious. As it should be.
Credits: Make Sushi
